An ultrasound diagnostic imaging system transmits ultrasonic signals to a target region of an object from a surface of the object and receives ultrasonic signals (ultrasonic echo signals) reflected from the target region to non-invasively acquire slice images about soft tissue of the object or images about blood vessels of the object based on the received ultrasonic signals.
The ultrasound diagnostic imaging system is a compact, low-priced apparatus and displays the images in real time, compared to other medical imaging systems, such as an X-ray diagnostic system, an X-ray computerized tomography (CT) scanner, a magnetic resonance image (MRI) system, and a nuclear medical diagnostic system. Further, the ultrasound diagnostic system improves safety performance since patients are not exposed to radiation such as X-rays. Accordingly, the ultrasound diagnostic system is widely used to diagnose heart, abdomen, urinary organs, uterus, etc.
The ultrasound diagnostic system includes an ultrasound probe to transmit ultrasound signals to the object to obtain ultrasound images of the object and to receive the ultrasonic signals reflected from the object.
The ultrasound probe includes a piezoelectric layer to convert electrical signals into acoustic signals or acoustic signals into electrical signals according to vibration of a piezoelectric material. A matching layer reduces a difference in acoustic impedance between the probe and the object so that ultrasonic waves generated by the probe can be transferred to the object. A lens layer focuses the ultrasonic waves which move forward from the transducer on a specific region. A backing layer blocks the ultrasonic waves from transmitting backward from the transducer to prevent image distortion.